On March 27, President Obama named Tilak Ratnanather among just 14 individuals to newly receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).

The PAESMEM is awarded by the White House to individuals and organizations to recognize the crucial role that mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science and engineering—particularly those who belong to groups that are underrepresented in these fields. Announcing the awards, President Obama stated, “These educators are helping to cultivate America’s future scientists, engineers and mathematicians. They open new worlds to their students, and give them the encouragement they need to learn, discover and innovate. That’s transforming those students’ futures, and our nation’s future, too.”

Tilak Ratnanather, Associate Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a core faculty member of both the Institute for Computational Medicine and the Center for Imaging Science, has devoted his career to recruiting and mentoring deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals into STEM fields. His motivation is built on his conviction that these individuals are uniquely positioned to make significant advances in STEM, particularly in auditory-related sciences and medicine.

Awardees will receive $10,000 from the National Science Foundation and will be honored at a White House ceremony later this year.

Congratulations, Tilak, on this remarkable achievement!

Learn more about Tilak Ratnanather and his mentoring philosophy here on the Hub.